A National Labor Committee report says that Christmas ornaments sold by Walmart are manufactured in sweatshops in which workers are not given safety gear to protect them from toxic chemicals. [KUTV] (Thanks, Jay!)

Just Christmas ornaments? How about ALL the crap Walmart sells? 99% of Walmart’s items are made in China, and if you believe that all of those workers are paid generously and work in a safe, clean environment, well, you probably believe everything you see on TV too.

@AlteredBeast: The candles for your Menorah are probably made in China by some poor saps who “are not given safety gear to protect them from toxic chemicals.”

I am not callous to the suffering of others, even if they are half a world away from me. However, I think it’s a mistake to work yourself into moral outrage every time one of these stories hits the news. It’s not exactly like the people working these jobs would otherwise be sitting back, sipping on mint juleps. They do these jobs because they see a better life for themselves or their children and it strikes me as profoundly paternalistic when self-righteous people want to impose regulations on them.

The standard of living in those countries is much, much different than in our country and imposing our safety standards on them would likely price them out of the market, thus taking away the jobs that they’re now doing. Just because these aren’t working conditions the average American would accept does not mean that we would be justified in cramming our misguided good intentions down their throats.

At the same time, if they are going to be subjected to those environments, the companies doing the “subjecting” should be forced into paying for their healthcare when (not if) they get sick. As it stands today, they don’t and the poor people that endured this crap “to make a better life for their children” end up making a worse life because all the money they saved goes to their health bills immediately previous to their dying. Their children then fill in for them and the cycle repeats…sounds like fun huh?